It was just before noon on Monday, October 31, 1949 when a jet plane screamed out of the sky, hurtled across waste ground and collided with council houses in Yeovil, killing three people instantly, including a young girl playing on her bike.

Described by the newspapers of the time as a "secret plane", the aircraft was a paraffin-fueled Westland Wyvern TF.2 prototype.

Piloted by Squadron Leader Michael A Graves, who was a 28-year-old assistant chief test pilot from Westlands, the plane ploughed through the perimeter fencing of what was then Westlands Airfield and across 200 yards of waste ground before striking the corner of a block of four houses and catching fire.

He was killed instantly in the collision.

Michael Graves, the pilot of the aircraft

Ann Wilkins, a five-year-old girl who lived at 98 Westland Road, was enjoying the first day of her half-term holiday and had been playing with her friends on the waste ground when she was killed.

A mother of five children, 40-year-old Edith Brown, was buried in the ruins of her home at 30 Westland Road, which was completely demolished in the accident. Her body was found by rescuers who searched for her for over an hour.

A neighbour, 57-year-old Elsie Hockey, was trapped by the debris between a gas stove and a wall in her badly damaged house. Her clothes were alight when she was rescued by the fire service, who kept hosing her down to protect her from the fire as they worked to free her. Sadly, she died in hospital of her injuries.

Explore: Westland Road in Yeovil as it is today

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An inquest into the deaths head the plane had been carefully checked before it had been allowed to fly, and that those at the airfield saw the jet 'flash' past the windows shortly before the collision.

Harold Penrose, chief test pilot told the court: "The machine was going extremely fast, and it was apparent the pilot was trying to make a crash landing. It was obvious the pilot would have the greatest difficulty in trying to reach the aerodrome before reaching the boundary fence."

The wreck of the plane

He spoke of the Wyvern's dive, saying the angle had become steeper and steeper, as though the pilot realised he had overshot and was making a last attempt to get the machine onto the edge of the aerodrome.

"It increased the danger to him, of course. But it was a gamble," he told the coroner.

The coroner, Mr C Jowett recorded a verdict of death by misadventure on all four people, but spoke of the bravery of the pilot who would have known he 'never had a chance'.

"It seems obvious that at the moment when the pilot went into a steep dive he realised he could do no more," he said.

How the inquest was reported (Image: How the inquest was reported)

"If he went too much further he would overshoot the aerodrome and be in the middle of the town and that the consequences would have been extremely grave. I think the pilot must have known that he never had a chance."